


It's a Long Way Down

by Annakovsky



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-05-15
Updated: 2004-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-09 18:39:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annakovsky/pseuds/Annakovsky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannah watches Billy because Elijah watches Billy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Long Way Down

Hannah watches Billy because Elijah watches Billy. Because when Elijah was nervous, he used to look at Hannah, make eye contact with her while he talked and rubbed the back of his neck. Like she reassured him. He doesn't do that anymore. She sees him following Billy with his eyes, that dopey look on his face, and she might as well not be there.

_Fuck you, Lij,_ she thinks. And then, _After all, it's not like Billy will want to do it. _

Billy is quite straight, even when he's sitting between Dom and Elijah and talking about manicures. It's like some kind of freakish talent. And Elijah won't stop fucking staring at him with those wacked out gigantic eyes and it's getting to be a little annoying. Hannah doesn't know why Billy doesn't say something, it's so annoying.

She looks down at the table, at Billy fiddling with a coaster. Fuck New Zealand and fuck Frodo and fuck hobbits and fuck if Billy's hands aren't pretty, small and fast like birds, tapping against the cork.

Hannah wishes she weren't so distractible.

No, she doesn't. She gets up suddenly. "I want to dance. Billy, dance with me." She turns without looking to see if he follows, but when she reaches the dance floor he's behind her, laughing. She puts her arms around his neck and pulls him close.

"I think my brother's in love with you," she says into his ear, her breath moving the hair at his temple.

Billy stops laughing abruptly and she feels him still. After a second he says, "I know." His hands tighten on her waist, almost hurting her.

"Love's a bitch, huh?" she says.

He smiles slightly, though his eyes are sad. "How would you know?"

"Everyone knows that," she says, and steps on his foot, hard. "Whoops," she says, very insincerely, and pulls away.

***

When Elijah and Hannah were kids, they used to fight for Zach's attention. He was the cool big brother and Hannah desperately wanted him to notice her, pay her more attention than Elijah. She remembers being very small, grabbing his leg and not letting go.

The next night she grabs hold of Billy's hand and pulls him onto the dance floor again, presses her hips against his. She can feel Elijah watching them from the table, smoking compulsively, his face red. She dances closer to Billy.

Billy pulls back slightly and looks at her, his face guarded and confused. She looks up at him from under her lashes, though they are about the same height.

"What?" she says. Billy shakes his head and doesn't say anything, lips tight.

She doesn't care. They keep dancing. She feels him half-hard against her hip.

***

The stupid thing about Monkey is that he can never stay pissed at you for very long. Also, he's used to getting mad at Hannah for little things and then forgetting about it, because that's what brothers and sisters do. You scream at each other over the remote, call each other ugly and stupid, and then five minutes later, you're laughing together at the Oasis _Behind the Music_ on VH1.

So after being pissy for just, like, a half hour, Lij is back to ruffling her hair and elbowing her in the ribs, hard.

"Jerk," she says.

"Brat," he says, and tickles her. Billy watches them from across the table. Dom reaches over and tugs gently on Hannah's hair.

"You two look alike," Dom says, laughing. "Look, Bill, isn't she, like, a female version of Elwood?"

Billy's eyes widen just slightly, and he blinks. "Nah," he says after a second, glancing away. "They don't look anything alike."

"Thank you," Hannah says. "Ew, Dom."

"You wish you looked like me," Elijah says.

"I'd never want to look that girly," Hannah says, and Dom cracks up laughing. Elijah shoves her so she falls out of the booth.

***

Hannah catches Billy watching her from across the table. He doesn't look away when she sees him, just stares at her steadily.

She feels very young.

Billy's mouth is maybe the prettiest thing she's ever seen.

***

"Pippin was always my favorite hobbit," she confesses to Billy on set. She is smoking and leaning against their make-up trailer.

Billy as Pippin blinks at her, some strands of hobbit wig blowing into his face. He smoothes them back with an quick move of his hand.

"Mine too," he says.

"That's because you only read the book after you'd gotten the part," she says. He shrugs.

It's really weird to be around hobbits as tall as you.

"Do hobbits have sex?" she asks abruptly. When she glances over, Billy's eyebrows are up in Pippin's hairline.

"Well, I suppose little hobbits are made somehow," he says after a moment. He isn't looking at her.

"Good to know," she says, and toes her cigarette out. Then she leans over and kisses him, on the lips. He tastes of something both sharp and sweet, and his lips are soft. He doesn't kiss her back.

"Elijah isn't here," he says when she pulls away.

"I know," she says.

He looks at her, finally. His eyes are sober. "So what was the point of that, then?"

She shrugs. "I just wanted to." She turns to walk away. "Not everything is about my brother," she throws back over her shoulder.

"Right," she hears Billy say softly, more to himself than to her. She hopes he's watching her walk away, but doesn't look back to check.

***  
END


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